WHO WE ARE
Photo coming soon....
Jhonny Paredes, Galapagos ICE Honorary member,
was born and raised in the Galapagos. He, along with other family
members, own the yachts Guantanamera and Yolita. Jhonny has always
worked on projects to try and improve the social issues in the Galapagos.
Robert W. Caldwell, Wood, works at Springs
Global in South Carolina as a towel designer.
He was a graduate from Blackburn College and a
student at Ray Vogue School of Design in
Chicago.
Jane T. Caldwell is an Education Director at
a church in York, SC and volunteers at a
Children's Home reading books every week.
In her free time she is a volunteer at PATH,
where she gives out food to needy people in her
County and is a volunteer at York Place. She is also a Graduate from the
Ray Vogue School of Design in Chicago.
Photo: Wood and Jane in the Highlands in
Santa Cruz.
Kirsten Ogden
is
Assistant Professor of English and Writing
Program Director at the University of La Verne.
She is an alumni of the Teach for America
organization, dedicated to ending educational
inequity for all children, and she works with
the California Poets in the Schools program to
set up writing workshops for students in
economically-depressed school districts. You can
visit her website at
www.eatthepaper.com.
Photo:
Kirsten and a friend Pablo in Santa Cruz Island
Eric Caldwell, North America General Manager:
Dr. Eric Caldwell, Ph.D. in English
Renaissance and Classical literature
at the University of Virginia. He has traveled in Spain, England,
and Morocco, but presently is most interested in the economic and
cultural dynamics of the Galapagos Islands. Beyond learning the
intricacies of Ecuador's import/export laws and the arcane cryptology of
wire codes, Eric is presently attempting to leverage his knowledge of
Greek and Latin into some slight facility in Spanish, and his boyhood
freshwater experiences in Lake Michigan into some understanding of
saltwater snorkeling. Eric conceives of his role in Galapagos ICE as
providing support to, Emily Pozo, who is the visionary behind
the organization. Eric can be contacted at:
ericcaldwell@galapagosice.org Photo:
Eric ready to go diving for the first time in
Genovesa.
Eugenio
Villamizar, Europe General Manager:
Eugenio
Villamizar was born in Venezuela of Spanish
origin. He has lived in Venezuela, Colombia, US,
Spain, and Belgium. He has recently moved to
Brussels to work for Goodyear Dunlop where he is
a sales training manager. He has built a
European network and has strong ties to Spain
and South America which will help him in his ICE
role. Eugenio's professional background focuses
on sales, training, and HR.
He can be reached at:
evillamizar@galapagosice.org
Mauricio Pozo, Vice President:
Mauricio and Emily married in
December 2005 in the Galapagos Islands. He is a native of Ecuador
and has been in the Galapagos for 5 years working in the Tourism
Industry with his family that are natives the the Galapagos Islands. He
has seen and experienced first hand the problems
with health and education. Mauricio
has an Associates Degree in Computer Science and
Personal Training.
His main goal is to improve the medical situation. Mauricio can be
contacted at: mpozo@galapagosice.org
Photo: Mauricio and Emily in the
Highlands, Santa Cruz Island
Giuseppe Criscione, Executer:
Giuseppe, or Joe, is a Certified Public
Accountant in Chicago. He received his bachelors degree from
Western Michigan University, where he specialized in taxes and cost
recovery programs, most notably the recovery of duty on imported
merchandise. He is on the board of directors of Sundance Die Cut,
Inc. and is currently the National Drawback Manager for UTi, United
States, a large freight forwarder and logistics company.
Photo: Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz
Emily K. Pozo, President and Founder:
Prior to going to the Galapagos, she worked in
International Education for many years, most recently by recruiting
students for BCA, a non-profit international education company. She has
also taught Spanish at Illinois State University both as a graduate
student and as a lecturer, and has spent time abroad in Mexico City and
studying at la Universidad Compultense in Madrid. As an Undergrad she went to Viterbo University as a nursing
student, then studied abroad and changed her major. Upon arriving in the Galapagos Islands for the first time, she
was dazzled by their breathtaking beauty, but as she spoke with the
residents, the fishermen, sailors, and merchants who work here, she
realized that more needed to be done beyond present conservation
efforts. She founded Galapagos ICE in order to aid in the educational
and economic needs of the Islands. Now living in Puerto Ayora with her
husband Mauricio, she spends most of her time visiting schools,
volunteering for the Red Cross, volunteering as the Sister City
Coordinator with Seabrook, Texas and working on her ESL Certificate. Emily can be contacted at
epozo@galapagosice.org.
Photo: Emily at Espanola Island
MISSION STATEMENT
Galapagos ICE Organization: Immerse
Connect Evolve is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving
the health and educational systems of the Galapagos Islands. By fostering
community-building interactions between residents of the Galapagos, citizens
of Ecuador, and volunteers beyond Ecuador’s borders, and by securing
donations of necessary equipment, time, and money at home and abroad,
Galapagos ICE seeks to empower local residents to improve their educational,
medical, and economic opportunities.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
Founded in 2005, Galapagos ICE realized the
citizens of one of the last paradises on earth are in need of
assistance. The future of Galapagos is in the hands of the scientists
that work endlessly to conserve the Islands, but also in the hands of
its people who live there. Without caring for the individuals on the
Islands and providing a good education and adequate healthcare,
conservation efforts will become harder and the future of the Islands
may be in jeopardy. Please help us in conserving this precious part of
the world, our Galapagos Islands, by volunteering your time, and
expertise and/or donations.
